Knitted cap



May 7, 1940. F WENGEN 2,199,473

KNITT'ED CAP Filed Jan. 16, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATToRNEYB,

May 7, 1940.

F. J. WENGEN KNITTED CAP 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 16, 1939 1NVENTQR.

ATTORNEY Patented May 7, 1940 UNITED STATES KNITTED GAP'- Frank J.Wengen, Milwaukee, Wis., assigner to Eagle Knitting Mills,

Inc., Milwaukee, Wis., a

corporation of Wisconsin Application January 16, 1939, Serial No.251,165

1 Claim.

This invention relates to improvements in the art of manufacturingknitted caps.

Heretofore, the bottom of knitted caps has 'been suitably finished,where necessary, to pro- 5 vide a selvage edge or an edge which will notunravel. The only elasticity in these finished edges, if any, is thatinherent in the knitted material itself, and this material has atendency to-stretch after continued use so that the lower edges fail toclosely engage the head of the wearer, and

permit wind and moisture to enter. Furthermore, knitted caps are notmade up in a wide range of sizes, and the bottom edge of a cap, as nowconstructed, may be fairly head conforming v `on one individual andrelatively loose on another.

This problem is particularly acute in that type of `cap equipped withear protecting extensions -which may be optionally worn in turned-upcondition or in turned-down condition, fastening beneath the chin. Whenturned up, it is desirable that the ear protecting extension maintainitself neatly in proper turned-up positionat the rear and sides of thecap, but with present methods ofconstruction there is no assurance thatthis will take place. When the ear protecting extension is turned down,the lower edge of said extension, as now constructed, hangs loosely overthe ears and drapes away from the back of the .30 'neck to permit theelements to enter therebelneath.

Heretofore, attempts to form this type of cap having ear protectingextensions adapted to fasten beneath the chin, from one-piece tubularmaterial knitted economically on a circular knitting machine, have beenunsatisfactory. Trouble was encountered because the normal shape of suchtube of knitted material is not perfect for the use intended, andcertain parts of the tube 4o are necessarily abnormally stretched duringuse, particularly the forehead engaging portion of the nished cap andthose portions adapted to rfasten beneath the chin, and such continuedstretching resulted in a permanent distortion of Vthe knitted material,causing the forehead and other lower edge portions to flare outwardlyand causing the chin extensions to become too loose.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide animproved knitted cap, and par- 50 ticularly, although not exclusively, aknitted cap of the type having ear protecting extensions -adapted tofasten under the chin, wherein the lower edge is constructed to tightlyhug the head of the wearer regardless of variations in the size lorshape of the head, and wherensaid lower edge construction cooperatesparticularly to maintain ear protecting extensions in a neat positionclose to the head, whether said extensions are turned up or fastenedbeneath the chin, and to maintain said edges against permanentstretching 15 out of shape.

It is recognized that stretchable members have been used in connectionwith cloth caps to cause gripping of the head, but the present inventiondeals with the use of elastic in combination with .'10 caps formed ofknitted fabric wherein the elastic cooperates with the inherentstretchability of the knitted fabric to produce a novel and usefulresult, and it is therefore a more specific object* of the invention toprovide such combination in a :15 knitted cap.

A further specific object of the invention is to provide in a knittedcap having an ear protecting extension, elastic means at the free edgeof said extension for properly maintaining said extension in differentpositions of wear.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a construction asabove described wherein the top of the cap may be equipped with buttonsor other fasteners cooperable with buttonholes or complementaryfasteners on the ear protecting extension, said buttons being so locatedas to cause the elastic edge of the extension to "tightly grip the headwhen said extension is fastened in turned-up condition.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a knitted caphaving elastic atv the lower edge thereof wherein said elastic extendstransversely of the wales of the knitted material and wherein saidelastic when in contracted condition, normally holds the adjacent Waleportions close together whereby the elastic and the knitted fabric maystretch simultaneously when urged to extended condition during use.

A further object of the invention is to provide a construction as abovedescribed wherein the elastic may take the form of elastic tape`embracing the edge of the knitted material to `form a binding therefor,whereby the appearance of said edge is enhanced and whereby unravely ingof said edge is not permitted. "4

A further object of the invention is to provide an vimproved method ofmanufacturing knitted caps formed from a single sectionof knitted tube,isaid caps having protecting extensions for the ears and neck formedwith tabs for connection beneath the chin of the wearer, comprisingcutting a substantially V-shaped notch in the tub- "ing 'to provide aface exposing portion bounded -by v`edges-ofthe chin tabs and by theedge of a .55

feo

forehead engaging portion, stitching elastic tape to said boundingedges, gathering and securing the material at the top of the tube toform the top of the cap, and subjecting the cap with the elastic appliedthereto to shrinkage *to cause said bounding edges of the face exposingportion to assume and permanently maintain a head conforming condition.

Other objects of the invention are to provide a knitted cap which is`inexpensive in construction, which is neat in appearance, which formsgood protection against the elements, which is capable of fitting a widerange of head sizes, and which is well adapted for the purposesdescribed.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention consists of theimproved cap and all its parts and combinations as set forth in theclaims and all equivalents thereof. In the accompanying drawingsillustrating one complete embodiment of the preferred form of theinvention in which the same reference numerals designate the same partsin all of the views:

Figure 1 is a side elevational View of the cap on a head, showing theear protecting extension in turned-up condition;

Figure. 2 is a front View thereof;

- Figure 3 is an elevational view of the other side of the cap fromFigure l, showing the ear protecting extension turned down;

Figure l is a fragmentary View of the knitted material adjacent an edge,and on an enlarged scale, showing the elastic in contracted condition;

Figure 5 is a similar view showing the elastic in stretched condition;

Figure 6 is an enlarged sectional View taken on line 6 6 of Figure 4;

Figure 7 is a iiattened View of a tube of knitted material having anotch cut therein as a step in forming one of the improved caps;

Figure 8 is a similar view after the notch has been enlarged and roundedand after overedging has been applied thereto;

Figure 9 is a similar View showing the condition after elastic tape hasbeen applied thereto; and

Figure l0 is a side view of the finished cap after it has been subjectedto shrinkage action.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the numeral 8 designatesthe main body portion of the cap, which mainbcdy portion is formed ofknitted material. The lower edge ofthe side and rear portions of themain body is provided with an ear protecting extension 9 which may be acontinuation of the fabric forming the knitted body portion 8. The endsof the ear protecting extension terminate in tabs lll short of the frontof the cap, and said tabs may be provided with buttonholes ll forcooperation with buttons l2 secured to the body portion of the cap.Other equivalent fastening means may be employed. The knitting utilizedin forming the cap is preferably of a half cardigan type with the walesI3 extending generally in an up and down direction.

The lower edge of the main body portion of the cap, as well as the freesurrounding edges of the ear protecting extension 9 are provided with asuitable elastic medium, which is cooperable with the inherentstretchability of the knitted fabric in producing a new and usefulresult in a knitted cap. This elastic medium preferably takes the formof elastic tape l@ which is transversely bent around the edge of theknitted material as shown in Figure 6 and which forms a bindingextending across the-forehead portion of the cap and along the adjacentedges of the tabs to the ends of said tabs as at i4'. Elastic tape alsoextends from the end I4' of one tab aroundthe rear lower edge of the capto the end I4 of the opposite tab. The tape is stitched to the edge ofthe knitted material by stitching I5 extending through the fabric asshown in Figures 4, 5and 6.

It is very desirable to be able to form this type of cap from a singlesection of knitted tubing which has been knitted economically on acircular machine. Accordingly a section of knitted tubing which has beendoubled back on itself to provide material of double thickness, as iscommon practice, and to provide a folded lower edge i6, is notched by asubstantially V-shape cut I1 as indicated in Figure 7. Next the notchedportion ll is trimmed by a suitable cutter to round the edges of thenotch to substantially the form shown in Figure 8, the lower end portionI8 on the two sides of the knitted tube being preferably severed.Overedging I9 is then applied to the trimmed edge of the notch, leavingthe blank in substantially the condition shown in Figure 8. It is to benoted that in Figure 8 the edges of the notch are wavy and that thematerial tends to flare out at the point 2i), and this is where troublewas formerly encountered in previous attempts to form this type of capfrom a single section of knitted tubing because even though the materialwas shrunk before use nevertheless it would always tend to return, aftercontinued use, to the form of Figure 8.

With the present method, after the overedging has been applied, theelastic tape I fi is applied in the manner indicated in Figure 9. Thistape is preferably applied in two lengths, one piece extending aroundthe lower edge of the cut tube, terminating at the point I4 on bothends, and the other piece extending from one point I4 around the edge ofthe face exposing portion to .the point i4 on the opposite side of thecap.

The application of the elastic tape removes the 40 wrinkles from theedge I9, which wrinkles are shown in Figure 8, and the application ofsaid tape tends to fore-shorten the edge lengths somewhat. Next theupper end of the blank of Figure 9 is suitably cut, gathered, andsecured.. together', in a well known manner to form the top of the cap.The cap is then placed on a form, having substantially the shape of ahead, and is thoroughly steamed. The result of suc-h treat-J ment is toshrink the knitted materia-l, particu- N larly at the cut edges and topermanentlyshrink and fore-shorten the elastic so that the elastic inits contracted condition is of less length than it was previously. Theresult of such shrinkage is to remove the flare at 29 to provide thehead Figure 4. Thus when the elastic tape is stretched` `during use, theknitted fabric will also stretch from the condition shown in Figure 4,with the -lower ends of the wales close together, to the condition shownin Figure 5 wherein the lower ends of the wales are separated as at I6,buty when the cap is removed from the head, the elastic will immediatelyreturn the edges to original position, 'and it is not possible for saidedges to conforming condition shown in Figure 10. Due

become permanently stretched out of shape. 75

Thus with this method of manufacture it is practical to form a knittedcap having ear protecting extensions adapted to fasten beneath the chin,

from a single section of tubular material knitted on a circular knittingmachine, even though the normal shape of such tube of knitted materialis `not perfect for the use intended, because the elastic permitsstretching of the chin engaging extensions to proper head conformingcondition while insuring the fact that these edges will return to theiroriginal unstretched condition, even after continued use. Thus the edgesof the nished cap will always hug the head, neck, and chin portions ofthe wearer to prevent the enrance of Wind and moisture and to maintain aneat appearance.

During use of the cap when the ear protecting extension 9 is turned upas shown in Figures 1 and 2, the elastic tape I4 will tightly hug thehead at both the sides and rear as indicated at 2l and 22 to hold theear protecting extension neatly in turned-up position and to hold it ina l position close to the head. The buttons I2 are as shown in Figure 3.When the cap is worn in this position, the elastic M extending aroundthe neck of the wearer will closely engage all portions of the neck, andthe elastic bordering the face will closely engage the face to preventthe entrance of Wind and moisture.. In both yconditions of wear of thecap the lower edge of the front will naturally tend to pull in close tothe forehead as indicated at 2li, and the elastic will prevent all ofthese aforementioned edgesrfrom permanently stretching out of shapeafter continued use.

Although only one form of the invention has been shown and described, itis obvious that various changes may be made, and all of such changes arecontemplated as may come within the scope of the claim. i

I claim:

A cap comprising, a tubular body of knitted fabric having walesextending throughout its length and being readily stretchabletransversely of the wales, the upper end of the body being closed toform a dome and the lower edge extending across thewales while the frontis provided with a face exposing V-notch which severs some of the walesintermediate their ends and forms lower chin tabs across which the walesextend, and an elastic tape of greater longitudinal elasticity than thetransverse elasticity of the tube secured to the bounding edges of theV-notch and to the lower edge of the body to prevent permanentstretching of said tabs and ofthe forehead engaging edge of the cap.

FRANK J. WENGEN.

